Liverpool Fc @ Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings

[ANDYSIAO14]

TORRES BREAKS RECORD IN FINAL DAY WIN

Liverpool have signed off with three points after second-half goals from Andriy Voronin and Fernando Torres secured a 2-0 victory at White Hart Lane.

The Reds opened the scoring through their ponytailed striker after an hour of dour end-of-season football.

From there the game burst into life, with Torres netting his 24th league goal of the campaign to see him overtake Ruud van Nistelrooy and become the most prolific foreigner ever in a debut season.

Liverpool could have had a hatful from there, not that it really mattered in what was a dead rubber of a game.

If the opening exchanges were a little flat, a giant inflatable ball which made its way on to the pitch certainly wasn't. It was allowed to roll around for several minutes until Didier Zokora delighted the home fans by booting it back. It was 10 minutes before either team provided similar entertainment, Liverpool working it well down the right before Voronin's volley forced Radek Cerny into an acrobatic save.

The visitors were soon threatening again when Steven Gerrard pinged a lovely ball down the left for the onrushing Ryan Babel. Torres, the cause of fervent bouncing in the away end throughout, busted a gut to get into the box but a combination of poor control and good defending from Jonathan Woodgate meant he needn't have bothered. Minutes later Babel did manage to produce an end product only to be denied by a diving Cerny.

It felt like chucking out time at the inn, both sides being ordered to finish their dregs before stumbling off for a kip ahead of a new, er, season. Not that either manager was showing signs of end-of-term fatigue. Both Benitez and countryman Juande Ramos stood animated through much of the first half, perhaps keen to earn bragging rights among the Spanish branch of the League Managers' Association.

The latter was almost celebrating after 25 minutes when Dimitar Berbatov headed towards the bottom right-hand corner of Pepe Reina's net. The Golden Glove winner had to be at his clean-sheet keeping best to push the ball out for a corner.

The result might have been academic here, but elsewhere in the Premier League fingernails were at a premium as teams diced with destiny at both ends of the table. News of a Man Utd opener promoted surreal celebrations around nine tenths of the Lane, one of the few stadiums in England where United are the lesser of two evils.

Back on the grass, the second-half began where the first left off, though a neat piece of combination play between Gerrard and Torres soon presented the Spain international with a fine chance to make it 33 in total this season. So often this year Premier League goalkeepers have lost the battle of nerves when face-to-face with El Nino but not this time, Cerny using his legs to pull off an unlikely save. He was also on hand to thwart Andriy Voronin's low drive minutes later.

Spurs then opened up the Liverpool defence with some intricate passing which left Robbie Keane with a decent chance to open the scores. The Republic of Ireland man dragged his shot wide when he should have done better.

Finally the game was opening up. Next Gerrard burst forward before unleashing a curler just over the bar, while down at the other end Reina had to be smart to stop a volley from the otherwise anonymous Steed Malbranque.

Then, on 68 minutes, the breakthrough, Torres the architect in laying a superb throughball before Ukraine international dispatched with ease to take his personal tally for the season to six.

Spurs almost made an immediate reply when Berbatov sent a classy volley towards the Liverpool goal. Unfortunately for him, Reina was equal to it with a world-class stop.

Instead it was the visitors who struck again with a trademark goal from, who else, Torres. The 24-year-old turned Alan Hutton on a sixpence before rolling what seemed like his 100th goal into an opposition net.

It was turning into a classic. Well, maybe. Hutton almost made it three when he headed towards his own goal from close range. Liverpool then hit the bar through Torres after great work from substitute Yossi Benayoun.

The Israeli could have bagged a couple himself later on but 2-0 it was to remain.

Elsewhere, United won the title after beating Wigan, while Derby, Birmingham and Reading have all been relegated.

[joew2005]

We the supporters of The Reds want to see them really fight 4 the EPL title next season.
If Liverpool k end the season with less than 5 pts difference with the eventual EPL winner,it would be a great way 2 show their improvement.

[wolfclan]

Originally Posted by ANDYSIAO14

O'Neill blasts Benitez over Barry


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does not understand why MON is making such a big hoha....dun tell me no other managers tried to sign his players? or is it he is some bullshitting.....

unless rafa really make a fool of himself in his issue, which i dun think so....if not then why mon need to start calling names?? if carson is some mish mash nameless player, why the hell did he play him in most of villa game, total nut isnt it. and doesn't him said things abt Crouch also???

mon is making himself look silly here....sighz....lost watever respect i have got for him.

[wolfclan]

Originally Posted by Cum_Luver

fellow Reds,

the most important issue now,is to get over those ownership's issue fast and before the new season starts.
with new ownership,there will surely be injection of cash for players and new stadium.
hope that when the issue is finally resolved,Gerrard can see some hope and stay on to lead us.

Originally Posted by Alkano

I totally agree with u on this.
Only if the turmoil in the boardroom is gone, can the team focus on the important issue like winning the BPL title....
18 yrs is a very long time....

the yanks have been talking and redesign the stadium 3-times, what are they trying to do??? when they took over, they said the stadium is the most important issue, here....and now still in the design stage....are they serious abt it? or just dragging their feet....which i think its the case and once they got all the TV $$, i think they will left the club to rot.....

seriously hope and wish they will just sell, make watever profit they get, and F**K off, we dun need them.

[rahl]

The success of Torres has all wetted our appetite for 'world class' signings, big money/big name signings.

Yes we need quality and we need players with a winning mentality, particularly goalscorers (whether strikers, wingers or defenders).

It's very clear although we beat Spurs (and should have hammered them - they were really shite 2nd half), there were only 2-3 players attacking - Torres, Stevie and Yossi. That's not good enough for us.

But when you begin to think about splashing large sums of money, you have to remind yourself about the massive flops - the ones at Chelsea right now, some of the recent buys of Spurs, Newcastle and a certain bald player at the Scum.

Especially with the boardroom wrangle, spending money will be a major issue. It's really a key off-season for us.

We need to buy right. Rafa is absolutely right that we need both big name signings and players who are lesser known. The basic thing is to make sure the player is someone the team needs and adds value to the team.

[rahl]

Originally Posted by wolfclan

seriously hope and wish they will just sell, make watever profit they get, and F**K off, we dun need them.

It's really tough bro. Hicks doesn't look like he will quit easily. In fact looks like the more stick he gets, the more he will stay put.

Ultimately he will have to put his money where his mouth is. So the transfer window is gonna be key not just for the team but the club. If he doesn't deliver, the fans should pool together and force him out of the club. There's no other way.

[Alkano]

I not sure if the fans pool their resources together to buy back the club will help the club at all.
5,000 pounds per share is no peanuts.
We need a established consortium or group to step in.
Bring the much needed stability to the boardroom.
Well the season is over, we will see how it unfolds.
Heads will rolls....

[wolfclan]

Originally Posted by rahl

It's really tough bro. Hicks doesn't look like he will quit easily. In fact looks like the more stick he gets, the more he will stay put.

Ultimately he will have to put his money where his mouth is. So the transfer window is gonna be key not just for the team but the club. If he doesn't deliver, the fans should pool together and force him out of the club. There's no other way.

sadly, but I think you are right here. sighz.....
but at the same time, he seem more interested in making profit here, guess its the dollar and senses that will make him move at the end of the day.....

just hope the saga won't affect the budget Rafa have to spend, we need good players, more and not just depending on 2-3 players......

I guess we seriously need world class wingers, and another striker who can share the scoring load of torres and at the same time play with him. not another striker who work hard but always shoot wayward......

[Frankiestine]

well at least we are closing the gap in terms of points from the BPL winner...I think in Rafa first season the diff was a gap of 30+ points betwn first and fourth...haiz if only they had won those games that they should really had won hands down, who knows maybe we could even had been occupying second...

[rahl]

Originally Posted by wolfclan

I guess we seriously need world class wingers, and another striker who can share the scoring load of torres and at the same time play with him. not another striker who work hard but always shoot wayward......

Kuyt can shoot bro, if you remember the first season (although he kept hitting the bar!) It's sad how he has been 'converted' to a right winger or even rightback! He's not finishing well now cos, well, when your work is as a provider/crosser or defending the right wing, then scoring isn't a heavy priority. It's a mental-tactical thing.

But Kuyt still scored important goals in the CL and near the end of the season was getting into good goalscoring positions in games. Although I must say I prefer an authentic right winger (who can score). That's why things don't look good for Pennant.

Originally Posted by Frankiestine

well at least we are closing the gap in terms of points from the BPL winner...I think in Rafa first season the diff was a gap of 30+ points betwn first and fourth...haiz if only they had won those games that they should really had won hands down, who knows maybe we could even had been occupying second...

It's not bad but not as good as it seems when compared to Houllier's time. Houllier was not as successful in Europe but brought us closer to the top in the league. Next season we have got to come out with confidence and say we are seriously challenging for the league, rather than simply narrowing the gap.

[ANDYSIAO14]

have a look at Torres opening-season-goal against chelsea and ending-season-goal against spurs...almost same hor...

and

a truly marksman!!!!

[NZL97]

Dear Reds,

good win at spurs to finish the season............

let's get gareth barry signed first (a good start) and hope we can get one world class RM, RB & LB to compete for the BPL next season.............of course to do that, we need to get rid of hicks & gillet & let the DIC oil monies do all the talking........look at the oil prices now, they must have temendous amount of funds ready to invest plus they are avid liverpool fans.

& benitez have to get it right next season..........no more excuses if the world class players he is trying to sign do come in or i really think he has to go...........

Come on you reds!!!!!

[wolfclan]

Originally Posted by rahl

Kuyt can shoot bro, if you remember the first season (although he kept hitting the bar!) It's sad how he has been 'converted' to a right winger or even rightback! He's not finishing well now cos, well, when your work is as a provider/crosser or defending the right wing, then scoring isn't a heavy priority. It's a mental-tactical thing.

But Kuyt still scored important goals in the CL and near the end of the season was getting into good goalscoring positions in games. Although I must say I prefer an authentic right winger (who can score). That's why things don't look good for Pennant..

yes bro, i do agreed with you Kuyt can still score, but not enough goals from him, he came with a good reputation though, he scores alot of goal when he was in dutch league, just can't seem to reproduce those goals for us though.

hopefully he will improve and hope to see him score more goals for us.

agreed with you on Pennant, he is not scoring enough,

[ANDYSIAO14]

Villa ready to fight to keep hold of Barry

Villa boss Martin O'Neill has warned Liverpool he has not conceded defeat in his battle to keep Gareth Barry.

Barry is reported to be keen on a £10million move to Anfield after Reds boss Rafael Benitez made his interest in the England midfielder known.

But Villa are ready to pull out all the stops to persuade Barry his future remains in the midlands with club owner Randy Lerner set to play a role.

O'Neill said: 'We want to do our utmost to keep Gareth because he's so important to us and is back to his brilliant best.

'It's interesting and ironic that apparently there was an offer from an Italian club for Steven Gerrard, yet Liverpool were quick to remind everyone that he is under contract.

'Gareth has two years left on his contract and we want him to stay. The chairman will talk to him to show how much we value him.

'I can't understand why Gareth would want to leave. He's only 27 and has been brilliant for us.

'He has been selected for England and has played regularly for them because of his exploits with Villa.'

O'Neill added: 'I wouldn't want to be saying how confident we are (of keeping Barry). It's a different era we live in. We will see.

'All I know is he has never expressed one iota of unhappiness in my time at Villa Park. He might not have stayed that long had he been really unhappy before.

'We're going to be sitting down very shortly and discussing Gareth's future. We won't let this lie.

'I'm going to see the chairman in the next couple of days with a bit of luck and the two of us together might be able to persuade him to stay.

'I say persuade him - but he still has two years left on his contract.'

O'Neill added: 'Gareth is a demi-god at Villa Park. He has that reputation and he's playing for England and he hasn't had to move to another club to do that.

'He has been particularly brilliant for us. We want to improve the team and our best chance of doing that is to keep our best players and adding some quality.'

Barry admitted he had been affected by all the speculation over his future but was back to his best in the 2-2 draw at West Ham which secured an Intertoto Cup spot.

O'Neill said: 'Gareth might have been affected by the speculation last week but I thought he was back to his best yesterday against West Ham.

'He did splendidly for us. You wouldn't have thought he had anything else other than a win on his mind.'

Villa have already rejected one £10million bid from Liverpool for Barry and there has been a war of words between O'Neill and Rafael Benitez over the possible deal.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, though, today suggested Martin O'Neill should come to terms with the prospect of losing captain Gareth Barry.

Benitez said in the Liverpool Echo: 'If your captain wants to leave, it's a problem, but that's football.'

Liverpool's manager has staunchly defended his actions, saying: 'I think the right approach when you want to sign a player is to talk to the manager.

'I was talking to Martin O'Neill. I said we would like to sign Gareth Barry and asked what the situation was.

'He just said he needed to talk to the owner and I said okay. He will not have any problems with his supporters because he never said to me he wanted to sell Barry.

'We were also talking about (Liverpool goalkeeper) Scott Carson because they have the option to sign him. We were just talking about football so why he was so angry, I do not know.

'I have been very clear. The player had said before that he wanted to play Champions League football. We knew that and so tried to sign a good player. It is that simple.

'We made an offer but I think we were straight. When you make an official offer, you do so by fax. Some people see the fax and you cannot control everything.

'The Birmingham press found out about the offer and it was not our fault. They were very clever and used that information.

'I was talking with Martin O'Neill 20 days before that and nobody knew. We were doing things properly. We are waiting now to see what happens next.'

Barry underlined his value to Villa by firing his side's second with a blistering finish in the 2-2 draw with West Ham at Upton Park.

But Dean Ashton struck a late equaliser to secure a share of the spoils the Hammers scarcely deserved.

Everton's victory over Newcastle denied Villa fifth place and a spot in the UEFA Cup, but they can still qualify for Europe via the Intertoto Cup.

O'Neill said: 'I'm very pleased with the team because we've taken big strides since last season.

'It's disappointing we've missed out on the UEFA Cup but with Everton beating Newcastle it doesn't seem so bad.

'We're in the Intertoto cup for definite now, which means we have to play 17 games in the middle of June!

'What it really means is that we have to be back a week earlier and be competitive sooner than expected because the ties are mid to late July.'

[rahl]

Originally Posted by ANDYSIAO14

have a look at Torres opening-season-goal against chelsea and ending-season-goal against spurs...almost same hor...

Bro, glad you posted that. It really shows the difference between Scum and us. The diver likes to do his fancy, arrogant stepovers and bullshit. Torres will simply drag the ball sideways and go past the defender. That's why the Scum will never have class no matter how many titles they win.